Fears of fresh flood in Sylhet as rain intensifies

The Surma River is flowing 30cm above the danger level in Kanaighat

Rain and runoff from the hills have once again caused the water of different rivers in Sylhet to surge, triggering fears of fresh floods in the region.

Shah Md Sajib Hossain, assistant meteorologist at Sylhet Meteorological Department, said the district saw 39.6mm of rain in the 24 hours to 6am on Monday.

In the next three hours, the district recorded 65mm of rainfall.

Deepak Ranjan Das, executive engineer of the Water Development Board in Sylhet, said that the Surma River was flowing 30cm above the danger level at Kanaighat point at 9am, up from 19cm below the level on Sunday evening.

On the other side of the border, India’s Cherrapunji has one of the world's highest average annual precipitation levels.

Das said 499mm of rain was recorded in Cherrapunji in the last 48-hour count and It has been raining in Sylhet as well, causing a rise in the river water.

He said the flood situation may worsen again if the rains persist.

According to the data from Sylhet district administration, more than 736,000 people have been marooned by floodwater as of Sunday.

Over 10,700 people were moved to 219 flood shelters. The shelters under Sylhet City Corporation and Sadar Upazila were still vacant.